Author: Mako Bereven

Four people were killed in a drone strike that targeted a vehicle in eastern Sulaimani province on Friday, according to a local official. The attack, suspected to be carried out by Turkey according to some reports, also sparked a fire in the unpopulated area. Shaho Osman, mayor of Chwarta district in Sharbazher where the attack occurred, told Rudaw that a vehicle was targeted by an unidentified drone in Rangina village, adding that the strike also started fire in the area. Salam Omar, the mayor of the nearby Zalan subdistrict, said “four people were in the vehicle and all of them…

A fire swept through a camp in Duhok province housing internally displaced persons (IDPs) from Shingal (Sinjar) in the early hours of Friday, burning at least 17 caravans without resulting in any casualties. Pir Dayan, head of the Joint Crisis Coordination Center’s (JCC) Duhok branch, told Rudaw that the fire in Amedi’s Dawdia camp has left at least 17 families without a home as all the belongings inside them have been burned. JCC teams are working on providing the families with tents and other necessities as soon as possible, according to Dayan who added that they are also still investigating…

The monitoring group reported that a field camp for 8,000 people had been set up in Belarus, probably, “Wagnerites” would be accommodated there. Source: monitoring group ” Belarusian Gayun ” Literally: “A camp for about 8,000 people. A field camp has been built near Osipovichi, where, possibly, the Wagner PMC will be located.” The BBC Verify edition received the latest satellite images of the territory of the former HF No. 61732 in the village. Target (Osipovichi district, Mogilev region) for June 30, 2023″. Details: The footage clearly shows that the construction of the field camp has been completed. The monitoring group calculated that there are about…

Wagner Group founder Yevgeny Prigozhin has expressed regret for the downing of several Russian military aircraft during his revolt, but Moscow’s troops may not be ready to forgive the mercenary leader for Wagner’s mutiny anytime soon. In his first public statement since calling off what turned out to be rather short-lived rebellion, Prigozhin expressed remorse on Monday that his fighters shot down several Russian aircraft, which killed an unconfirmed number of airmen. He said, however, that he was given no choice. He did not specifically apologize for carrying out the mutiny. “We regret that we had to hit air assets, but those…

The Russian occupation army, on the night of June 15, attacked the Odessa region with unmanned aerial vehicles. This was stated by the speaker of the Odesa OVA Sergey Bratchuk, RBC-Ukraine reports with reference to his Telegram . During the air raid in the Odessa region, the sounds of explosions were heard. According to preliminary information, the Russian Federation released 13 shaheeds. The OVA notes that all hostile targets were destroyed by air defense forces. Russian night attack on Ukraine In recent weeks, Russian troops have often carried out combined strikes on the territory of Ukraine. On June 15, twice during the night, a large-scale air raid…

Hugh Pope finds out why Iraqi Kurds who have migrated to Europe are on their way back to their unpredictable home country English Channel crossings that end in tragedy highlight how many Iraqi Kurds have been willing to take dramatic, expensive risks to reach a dream of prosperity and stability in richer countries in Europe. But 10 days spent in Iraqi Kurdistan reveals another, parallel, reality: a small but still significant number of Kurds who are obliged or ready to return. “You should see my house in Erbil – it’s absolutely fantastic!” an Iraqi Kurd said as we chatted in…

The coordinator of the US National Security Council for strategic communications, John Kirby, said that the founder of the Wagner PMC, Yevgeny Prigozhin, could be behind the withdrawal of UN peacekeepers from Mali, and that the United States is concerned about the destabilizing activities of the Wagner PMC in Africa. Source : “Voice of America” Kirby’s direct speech : “We know that high-ranking Malian officials worked directly with Prigozhin’s staff to inform the UN Secretary General that Mali withdrew its consent to the mission of peacekeepers.” Details : Prigozhin, who led an unsuccessful mutiny against the Kremlin over the weekend, helped plan the withdrawal…

Kurdistan Region – Turkish warplanes on Saturday bombarded Mount Metina in Duhok province without causing casualties, a villager told Rudaw. Fayeq Balavayi from Balava village said he saw Turkish air forces bombarding the nearby Mount Metina at noon, adding that the bombardment continued for hours. No civilians were harmed because the targeted area is banned from civilians due to frequent clashes between Turkish army and the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) there. PKK is an armed group struggling for the increased rights of Kurds in Turkey but it is listed as a terrorist group by Ankara. Turkey has recently upped its…

Information technologies (IT) have become an integral part of people’s lives and they have a huge potential to serve as a tool for driving social change including empowering women and girls who face challenges originating from stereotypes and prejudices.   Against this backdrop, IT specialists, representatives from IT companies and hubs, and UN Women officials from across Central Asia came together on May 24 for an online panel discussion on the role of IT in empowering women across different cultural contexts. Hosted by EPAM with support from UN Women, the webinar offered a space to discuss how IT can be…

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region – Turkey’s pro-Kurdish Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP) on Friday announced that two of its mayors and a number of other affiliated local officials were detained by security forces for unknown reasons. The co-mayors of Patnos (Panos in Kurdish), Muserref Gecer and Emrah Kilic, in the southeast province of Agri, and a number of other municipal employees “were unlawfully detained this morning,” HDP said. “These detentions are a continuation of the political genocide operations,” the party added. The HDP won the municipality in the 2019 local elections. The party applies a co-leadership system within its internal structure and offices…